Disclamer: I do not own the X-Men they are the property of Marvel inc. The stories adapted throughout are the property of folklore.

Slumber Party

Kitty Pryde looked around the room with pleasure. It was her birthday and she had managed to convince the Professor to allow her to have a slumber party. She was a bit old for one, she supposed, but back in Northfield she had never had enough friends to have one, and now that she did she wanted to make up for lost time.

Granted, there was the small problem that her friends didn't all exactly get along, but that would hopefully be easy enough to get over.

"I can't believe you talked me into this," Jean muttered to Kitty out of the side of her mouth as she surveyed the partygoers, namely Wanda and Dani with trepidation.

Kitty gave them both dirty looks. "It'll be fun. Besides what else did you have that you could be doing?"

Rogue glared back. "When I think of the full list I had, because it was long, I'll let you know."

"Ha, ha. Funny, really. It is my birthday, okay. Can you guys deal for like one night?" She widened her eyes and pouted, a move that worked on the guys at the Institute and Lance. "For me?"

"You like to think you're cute."

"I am cute," Kitty said, grinning. She grabbed a handful of cheese curls out of a bowl and began nibbling on them. "It works very well in my favor I'll have you know."

Wanda rolled her eyes, all too well aware of Kitty's ability to be cute and what it got her. She was forced to live with the girl's very smitten boyfriend. "Lance is crazy enough over you, it's disgusting." She still remembered how he had spend the past month trying to figure out the perfect birthday surprise. "At least he's worthy of your time, unlike Todd."

Kurt could hear the music pouring out of the large room in the house that Kitty had taken over for a slumber party. It was an odd realization that girls found it fun to get together and hang out all night with food and pajamas, Kurt had to admit it wasn't a bad idea. Unfortunately no males were aloud, and she had invited Amanda. He figured he could pop in and out of there at least once during the evening and get a good glimpse of his girlfriend in her pajamas.

Then Kurt spotted Scott casually hanging out by the bay window that looked into the room. With a grin, Kurt ported over Scott's shoulder. "Spying eh?"

Scott pushed him down and growled, "Either keep it down or get out." Kurt tried to figure out if Scott was protecting his teammates from the non X-Men that Kitty had insisted inviting, or if it was really to look at Jean in a less guarded situation.

Luckily it wasn't long before Amanda passed by the window. "Ach, Amanda."

"What did I say?" Scott hissed at him.

"Alright, blue boy shutting up. Jean has the tiniest pajamas."

Scott turned on him, and seemed inches from taking him to parts when another voice joined the fray.

"Why don't you two move along?" Logan was looming over them, and Kurt wasn't sure if he was amused or ready to snap them in half. With Logan one never knew. "I'm sure the girls in there could come up with all sorts of horrific torture if I were to let them know that you were spying on them."

"Ve vere just going."

~*~

Lance nervously tapped his hands against the steering wheel. "Explain to me again why I'm driving you over to the X-Geeks mansion?" he asked. He didn't need to. The image in his head of the smiling girl who would be turning seventeen flashed in his head.

The younger mutant who was perched on the seat next to him had no problem uttering his reason yet again. "Because cuddlebumps has gone for a slumber party and she will be in her pajamas. Besides, don't you want to see your pretty Kitty in her skimpy pjs?"

"I've already seen her in her pajamas Todd when I tried to be an X-Man." 'And they're not the least bit skimpy,' he added silently thinking of the baggy pink t-shirt and shorts. "And you have plenty of opportunities to play peeping tom at home."

"She'll be off guard here. You had your attempt to get closer. Let me have mine."

Todd was so helpless and hopeless, why not give him a little thing? And if it allowed him the opportunity to wish Kitty a happy birthday, all the better. "If Wolverine catches us I'm leaving you to deal with him on your own."

"You don't really mean that yo," Todd said although he didn't sound so sure of himself.

Lance took a moment to shift his glance from the road to his friend next to him. It accomplished putting some more uncertainty in to Todd. "You bet I do. If this jeopardizes any of my relationship with Kitty, I'll kill you myself."

"Awww, someone wants his Kitty cat!"

"Do you want me to do you this favor?" he growled again.

He gained a meek nod in response and then turned the volume of the radio up.

~*~

Rogue and Wanda were flipping through the stack of movies Kitty had pulled out. "These are sappy movies," Wanda said with distaste.

"And would you have preferred the action and adventure sort of thing that we live?"

"Serendipity?" Rogue asked picking up the case. "Really, Kitty."

"It's cute." Getting a couple of blank stares back in return, she let out an aggravated noise. "Oh come on, John Cusack is totally cute for an older guy."

"I really liked it," Amanda said, joining in the search through the movies. "It was sweet."

Dani was sitting off to the side looking left out. Kitty turned and gave her a questioning glance. "I missed that one when it was in theaters," she said upon realizing she was being questioned.

"You'll love it I promise," Kitty assured her.

"I won't."

Kitty turned to glare at her friend and former roommate. "If you really don't want to celebrate my birthday with me, you can go upstairs."

"Kitty, I never said…" Rogue let out an aggravated sigh and finished the statement. "You know I'm staying."

"They've gotta be in one of these rooms, yo. Just a little while longer?"

"I could have gone up to the front door, asked for Kitty and Wanda and we would have been yelled at, I would have wished Kitty a happy birthday and you would have seen Wanda, been hexed, and we could be back at the house."

He could have abandoned Toad here, or have driven off until the guy was done peeping into windows looking for Wanda. But for some reason that seemed like too much of a cop out. He had gone soft somewhere along the way. He blamed most of it on the little sprite who had caught his heart, but knew that a large part of it was having people he could depend on. It sucked not having people that you could depend on, and he would hate to let the guys down.

"You're that scared of this place. Man, I didn't think you were scared of nothing."

He instantly recognized it as a double negative, and was once again reminded that he spent too much time with Kitty. "You haven't seen all of the defenses of this place." 'Plus Logan is really scary,' his mind added of it's own volition.

"I think this might be it."

There was a definitive *sknit* and a gravely voice growled out. "What'cha lookin' for bub?"

While Todd stared up Wovlerine from his crouching position, Lance grabbed the back of his shirt and began backing up dragging Toad witi him. "Nothing. Toad lost something of his, we were just looking for it."

"Leave. If I see anything that might belong to one of you I'll get it to you."

"We're going," Lance assured him and began to drag the smaller mutant towards the jeep with more speed.

"Aw man!" Toad cried out as he was dragged away, "All I wanted was one peek."

~*~

Hours later the lights were out and the girls were all in sleeping bags on the floor. The last movie, Cruel Intentions, which had something for everyone, had just been turned off. They were supposed to be going to bed, but conversation was winning out.

"You know what I miss, fairy tales."

"Why? You still read them all the time."

"I know, but it's… unfashionable for grown ups to enjoy them."

"That's because there is no such thing as happily ever after," Wanda said, joining in.

"They aren't all that happy," Kitty defended. "I mean like, think about the stories. People die, get eaten, get abandoned, and originally there was no stipulation on happily ever after."

"I like those ones that turn it about," Amanda added. "How happily ever after isn't so happy or the bad guy isn't as bad as they're made out to be?"

"And how does one kiss do you in?" Jean asked, rather cynically. "I'm serious, you just wake up because a guy kisses you and obviously he's your one true love."

"That's not true with Scott I'll take it?" Kitty teased.

"Shut up," Jean muttered in a way that suggested if anyone had been able to see her they would have seen her blushing. She continued on in a rather prim voice. "I have known Scott since we were much younger, and we had a very fulfilling friendship before any kissing happened."

"I don't know," Kitty said, leaning back and thinking about her own experiences. "a kiss is a pretty powerful thing."

"No!" Rogue exclaimed sitting up. "No thinking of Lance. You'll start talking about him in your sleep. I listened to 'Oh Lance!' and other such expressions enough when I lived with you."

"It's my birthday and I'll think of whomever I want."

"I agree with Kitty," Amanda put in, cutting off what could easily turn into a fight between Kitty and Rogue. "Technically the kissing is half of what separates two people from being close friends to being in a serious relationship."

"And if it's the wrong guy it's gross," Wanda added from her own position on the floor, "especially if he hadn't brushed his teeth, ever. Not that it happened or anything," she finished, down casting her eyes and playing with the sleeping bag.

Rogue's own thoughts departed to the one and only kiss she had ever had. Hypnotized and with an annoying swamp rat to steal his powers. Still it had been nice. "Sometimes all you have is the one kiss."

~Ladies, it's nearly three.~

"Whoops. Bedtime."

Everyone else went to sleep quickly but Danielle. While she was still on the outside, they had all been friendly to her, accepted her because Kitty had. These were nice people, and the last thing she wanted to do was to hurt them with her powers. Maybe if she sat up thinking of the folklore her grandfather had always supplied her with and the fairytales she enjoyed, maybe she could stay up and not hurt anyone.

But eventually, she too succumbed to sleep. And her powers awoke.

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